Klimkin: Sectoral cooperation should become an important element of Eastern Partnership

He stated this in his speech at the ministerial meeting of the Eastern Partnership initiative in Luxemburg on October 15, the Foreign Ministry’s press service reports.

"In his speech, Minister Pavlo Klimkin noted that in the context of the development of the Eastern Partnership after 2020, the deepening of sectoral cooperation between the EU and the three associated partners with a view to their further industrial integration into the EU should become an important element of the initiative," reads the report.

According to the Foreign Ministry, the main topics of discussion were the implementation of "20 key deliverables for 2020" and prospects for the further development of the Eastern Partnership, in particular, in the context of the 10th anniversary of the launch of this EU foreign policy initiative.

Klimkin called on the EU “to be ambitious, to respond to the aspirations of partners, to submit certain projects for the tenth anniversary of the Eastern Partnership with the most tangible results for the society, as well as to start a discussion on the future of the Eastern Partnership.”

He also noted the importance of strengthening the security component of the Eastern Partnership and enhancing the cooperation on combating hybrid and cyber threats, in particular from Russia, which is especially important ahead of the upcoming elections in Ukraine and the EU, the minister said.

On the sidelines of the meeting, Klimkin met with British Foreign Minister Jeremy Hunt, Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto, and Secretary General of the European External Action Service Helga Schmid.

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